Tape dispenser



S 3, 19 3 J. GERSHEN 3,102,671

TAPE DISPENSER Filed March 5, 1962 xx vs ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,102,671 TAPE DISPENSER Irvin I. Gershen, Springfield, N.J., assignmto Johnson & Johnson, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 177,645 Claims. (Cl. 225-43) The present invention relates to tape dispensers, more particularly to dispensers for holding and dispensing hardtotear tape from a roll which may be replaced when the tape is used up.

This invention contemplates a tape dispenser of this type which may be molded in one piece from a flexible and resilient material such as polypropylene. The dispenser comprises opposed side walls, on end wall connecting the side walls adjacent their perimeters, and a tape severing arm hingedly connected to the body of the dispenser through the end wall. The side walls, the end wall and the tape severing arm are integral and connected to one another by hinge portions of reduced thicknesses of the same plastic material.

The end wall defines an aperture for the passage of tape from the interior to the exterior of the dispenser and is divided into a plurality of sections. One of the end wall sections is integral with both of the side walls and connected to each of them by one of the hinge portions. The remainder of these sections each is integral with only one of the side walls and extends approximately perpendicular thereto so that when the dispenser is closed, the various end wall sections form an enclosure with the side walls. Cooperating portions are provided on the side and end walls so that the parts snap together and the dispenser may be opened and closely easily. Thus, a roll of hardto-tear tape such as unsintered polytetrafluoroethylene film strip may he placed inside the dispenser, when it is open, and threaded through the aperture and the dispenser may he closed easily merely by snapping the parts togather.

The cutting arm is adapted for swingahle movement toward and away from the dispenser on one of the reduced thickness hinged portions. The arm fits over the aperture when it is swung down and positioned on the end wall of the dispenser, and a cutter is provided in the end of the arm beyond the aperture for severing the tape. An anvil portion of the resilient plastic material is provided in the path of the cutter for cooperating with the cutter to sever the tape when the hinged arm is swung down on the end wall. The surface of the anvil is solid and resilient and the edge of the knife is parallel thereto so that when the knife is pressed down against the anvil, with the tape between them, the knife cuts through the tape and contacts the surface of the anvil evenly across the width of the tape. Other and funther advantages of the invention will he apparent from the following description and claims taken together with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a dispenser according to this invention, opened up, with its parts lying out fiat as they may have been molded;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in section of a portion of the dispenser of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with the parts closed and a strip of tape passing through the aperture in its upper end wall section;

FIG. 4 is a side view in section of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with the parts closed and the tape severing arm swung down upon the dispenser so that the cutter and anvil of the dispenser are brought into contact to sever the nape;

3,102,671 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 FIG. 5 is an enlarged View in section of a portion of FIG. 4 showing the cutter and anvil thereof in more detail.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a dispenser according to one embodiment of this invention which is adapted to be molded in one piece from a flexible and resilient plastic material such as polypropylene. The dispenser comprises opposed side walls 11 and 12 and an end wall 13 connecting the side walls adjacent their perimeters. The end wall is divided into a plurality of sections. One of the sections 14 is integral with both of the side walls and hingedly connected thereto by hinge portions 15 of reduced thickness formed from the same flexible and resilient plastic material. The nature of these hinges 15 is shown in detail in FIG. 2. Each of the remaining sections 16 and 17 is integral with only one of the sidewalls and extends approximately perpendicular thereto across the space between the side walls when the dispenser is closed. As shown most clearly in FIG. 1, in the embodiment of the drawings, there are two sections 16 and 17 of the end Wall in addition to the section 14 integral with both side walls. The section 16 extends inwardly from the top of the side wall 11 and has a sloping extension 18 at its front end. The other section 17 extends more than half way around the dispenser in the shape of an L and has a short portion 19 at the top of the dispenser which extends reanw-ardly toward the other section 16 of the end wall. This top portion 19 terminates in an inclined shelf 21 which is more or less parallel to the inclined surface of the sloping extension 18 of the other end wall section 16. When the parts of the dispenser are closed, these two inclined surfaces to gether form an aperture 22 through which the tape may be led or drawn for dispensing.

A cylindrical flange 23 is molded integral with the side wall 12 centrally in the dispenser for holding a hollow roll 24a of tape 24 mounted on a hollow core 25 in a conventional fashion. The outside diameter of the flange 23 is slightly less than the inside diameter of the core 25 so that Uhe core fits over the flange and is rotatably mounted with respect thereto. A corresponding shallow flange 26 is molded to the opposite side wall 11 and located so as to contact the tape holding flange 23 on the back side wall when the dispenser is closed. The second flange 26 provides additional rigidity for the dispenser and helps support the tape roll 24a.

A pair of resilient dctents 27 extends inwardly from the side wall 11 in such a way as to cooperate with snapping flanges 23 extending radially inwardly toward the tape roll 24a from the end wall section 17. When the side wall 11 presenting the detents 27 is brought into contact with the end wall the detents 11 snap around the flanges 28 on the end wall and hold the dispenser together. In addition, positioning fittings 29 are provided on both of the side walls 11 and 12 to position corresponding portions of the end Wall 13 when the dispenser is closed and hold them in position. The various parts of the dispenser including the reduced thickness hinge portions 15, the detents 27, the flanges 23 and 26, and the brackets 29 are adapted to fit together in such a way as to provide a maximum of rigidity. At the same time they are adapted to be separated easily so that the dispenser may be opened whenever it is necessary to replace a used roll of tape.

A tape severing arm 31 also is molded integral with the other parts of the dispenser and hingedly connected to the end wall section 14 which is common to both side walls 11 and 12 by a reduced thickness hinge portion 32 such as those connecting the section 14 with the side walls. The end wall section 14 hingedly connected to the tape severing arm 31 is adjacent the end wall section which defines the above-mentioned aperture 22. The tape severing arm 31 is adapted to swing about its hinge 32 toward and away from the dispenser and the aperture 22. When the arm 31 is swung down upon the end wall. 13 of the dispenser, it covers the aperture 22. A cutter 33 is mounted adjacent the end of the tape severing arm 31 beyond the aperture 22 when the arm is swung down, and the end wall at this point presents an anvil portion 34 in the path of the cutter. The anvil 34, in turn, presents a solid, level and resilient surface 35 to said cutter and the cutter 33 presents a straight edge parallel to the surface of the anvil. Thus, when the tape 24 is drawn through the aperture 22 over the anvil 34, pressure on the cutter 33 causes its edge to cut through the tape 24 and contact the surface 35 of the anvil evenly across the width of the tape. It is advantageous for the proper functioning of the cutter and the anvil for this purpose that the anvil be formed of a resilient material, such as polypropylene. This type of cutter and anvil arrangement is particularly advantageous in the dispensing of nonsticky, unsintered polytetratluoroethylene tape of the type which is useful as a thread sealant. It is extremely difficult to tear this kind of tape or to rip it once a cut is initiated. This tape must be cut through, across its width, in order to assure an even end edge.

The tape severing arm 31 has a top wall 36 and depending fianges 37 which reinforce the arm. It is the bottom edges of the flanges 37 which contact the top section 16 of the end wall in the closed position of the dispenser. The cutter 33 is mounted in a transverse head structure 38 of the arm, shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5. The cutter 33, itself, may be a steel blade similar to a razor blade or any other blade material suitable for repetitive use for this purpose. The top wall 36 of the arm terminates in an inclined holding surface 39 having transverse ridges 41 in its outer surface. This inclined holding surface 39 facilitates pressing the cutter 33 firmly down upon the anvil 34 to sever the tape. The side walls 11 and 12 have opposed vertical flanges 42 extending upwardly along their top edges rearwardly of the aperture 22 and the tape severing arm 31 swings down between these flanges to contact the top of the dispenser. To hold the arm 31 down on the dispenser, a pair of detents 44 are provided on the depending flanges 37 of the arm for cooperation with corresponding holes 45 defined in the upright flanges 42 of the side Walls. A pair of stops 46 and 47 also are provided, one on the top section 16 of the end wall, and one on the underside of the top Wall 36 of the arm to aid in holding the parts in position. One of the depending flanges 37 of the tape severing arm 31 is cut away at 48 to cooperate with the stop 46 in positioning the arm.

Having now described the invention in specific detail r and exemplified the manner in which it may be carried into practice, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that innumerable variations, modifications, applications, and extensions of the basic principles involved may be made without departing from the spirit and scope.

The invention claimed is: 1. A molded tape dispenser formed of a flexible and resilient plastic material; which comprises a pair of opposed side walls spaced from one another; an end wall connecting the side walls adjacent their perimeters and defining an aperture to allow tape to pass from the interior to the exterior of said dispenser; said end wall being divided into a plurality of sections; one being integral with both of said side walls and hingeabiy connected to each of them by a reduced thickness hinge of the same plastic material and the remainder of said sections each being integral with only one of the side walls and extending approximately perpendicular thereto across the space between the side walls when the dispenser is closed; a cutting arm integral with, and hingedly connected by a reduced thickness hinge portion to a section of said end wall adjacent to the end wall section defining said aperture; said hinged arm fitting over said aperture when the arm is swung down on the end wall of said dispenser; a cutter mounted in the end of said arm and located beyond said aperture when the arm is swung down. on the end wall; and an anvil portion of said resilient plastic material presented by the end wall in the path of the cutter when the hinged arm is swung down on the end wall, corresponding portions of said side and end walis fitting together when pressed into contact to close the dispenser but being separable from one another to open the dispenser; whereby a roll of tape may be positioned inside the dispenser when it is open, the free end of the tape may be passed through the aperture and the over the anvil portion, and the cutter may be swung down onto the anvil, when the dispenser is closed to sever the tape.

2. A molded tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the anvil portion presents a solid, level and resilient surface to said cutter and the cutter presents a straight edge parallel to the surface of said anvil so that pressure on said cutter causes its edge to cut through the tape and contact the surface of the anvil evenly across the width of the tape.

3. A molded tape dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the side and end walls, the cutting arm, and the anvil are formed of polypropylene.

4. A molded tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a. centrally located cylindrical flange member extends inwardly from one of the side walls for rotatably mounting a hollow roll of tape thereon in said dispenser.

5. A molded tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein an inclined holding surface is provided on the top of the cutting arm over the cutter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,917,374 Lee et a1 July 11, 1933 2,229,961 Deane Jan. 28, 1941 2,694,486 Schaefer Nov. 16, 1954 2,790,609 Hawthorne et al Apr. 30, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 556,195 Canada Apr. 22, 1958 757,117 Great Britain Sept. 12, 1956 

1. A MOLDED TAPE DISPENSER FORMED OF A FLEXIBLE AND RESILIENT PLASTIC MATERIAL; WHICH COMPRISES A PAIR OF OPPOSED SIDE WALLS SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER; AN END WALL CONNECTING THE SIDE WALLS ADJACENT THEIR PERIMETERS AND DEFINING AN APERTURE TO ALLOW TAPE TO PASS FROM THE INTERIOR TO THE EXTERIOR OF SAID DISPENSER; SAID END WALL BEING DIVIDED INTO A PLURALITY OF SECTIONS; ONE BEING INTEGRAL WITH BOTH OF SAID SIDE WALLS AND HINGEABLY CONNECTED TO EACH OF THEM BY A REDUCED THICKNESS HINGE OF THE SAME PLASTIC MATERIAL AND THE REMAINDER OF SAID SECTIONS EACH BEING INTEGRAL WITH ONLY ONE OF THE SIDE WALLS AND EXTENDING APPROXIMATELY PERPENDICULAR THERETO ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS WHEN THE DISPENSER IS CLOSED; A CUTTING ARM INTEGRAL WITH, AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED BY A REDUCED THICKNESS HINGE PORTION TO A SECTION OF SAID END WALL ADJACENT TO THE END WALL SECTION DEFINING SAID APERTURE; SAID HINGED ARM FITTING OVER SAID APERTURE WHEN THE ARM IS SWUNG DOWN ON THE END WALL OF SAID DISPENSER; A CUTTER MOUNTED IN THE END OF SAID ARM AND LOCATED BEYOND SAID APERTURE WHEN THE ARM IS SWUNG DOWN ON THE END WALL; AND AN ANVIL PORTION OF SAID RESILIENT PLASTIC MATERIAL PRESENTED BY THE END WALL IN THE PATH OF THE CUTTER WHEN THE HINGED ARM IS SWUNG DOWN ON THE END WALL, CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE AND END WALLS FITTING TOGETHER WHEN PRESSED INTO CONTACT TO CLOSE THE DISPENSER BUT BEING SEPARABLE FROM ONE ANOTHER TO OPEN THE DISPENSER; WHEREBY A ROLL OF TAPE MAY BE POSITIONED INSIDE THE DISPENSER WHEN IT IS OPEN, THE FREE END OF THE TAPE MAY BE PASSED THROUGH THE APERTURE AND THE OVER THE ANVIL PORTION, AND THE CUTTER MAY BE SWUNG DOWN ONTO THE ANVIL, WHEN THE DISPENSER IS CLOSED TO SEVER THE TAPE. 